08 Oct Forager’s Report – October 7, 2018

Went mushrooming yesterday at Point Reyes and was surprised that there were no mushrooms, even after the rains. As we were ready to go up to Mt Vision to check if those places with fog drip produced, a ranger came down to inform us that, due to the red flag warning for Marin, the mountain was closed. We turned back and checked other places, with no success…. Guess we will have to wait for additional moisture.

The pictures below were taken on Mt Tamalpais. The one on the left show what might, at first glance, look like oysters. They actually are Phyllotopsis nidulans, the orange mock oysters. Notice the inrolled margins, the orange color, the whitish hair covering them, no? I bet you would notice the fetid smell if you decided to pick them and that will give you pause. Sometimes the smell is almost unnoticeable.
The one on the right is a honey mushroom (Armillaria mellea) which some people like to eat. I personally have not so cannot tell you if they are good or bad eating. One of these days…., maybe.

The running commentary is: Be careful when you pick. Make sure you identify it without a doubt.